Faculty Resources: Emergency Back-up Plan for Extended Absences

Email sent to all Faculty 11.3.09

To: All Faculty
From: Lisa Wainwright

Dear Faculty,

The following memo is meant to address questions that have arisen about absences related to flu. In order to minimize the spread of H1N1, anyone with fever or flu-like symptoms is urged to stay home and not to come to campus until 24 hours after the fever is gone (in the absence of any medication that controls fever). Experts at the Centers for Disease Control now expect that the H1N1 virus will last 3-5 days, which might occasion missing a week of class. ÊAt SAIC we currently have 3 times the usual number of reported flu cases for this time of year, and this number may increase significantly.

Students who miss class because of the flu, or are sent home because of flu symptoms, should receive excused absences. Ask for email notification from those individual students who are ill and refer them to SAIC Health Services to request an Extended Absence Notice be sent out. Please note that a doctor's note is not required for an excused absence; the CDC recommends that unless an individual is at high risk of complications or has severe symptoms, s/he should not go to the doctor's office in order to avoid infecting others. Faculty should work with students on an individual basis, to help them make up missed class work due to illness. There may be multiple students who are affected in a given class and faculty should work with them on an individual basis.

Here are some suggestions to help instructors plan for their own illness, and the illness of their students:

1.All faculty must prepare an emergency back-up plan for their class or classes in case of excessive absences due to illness. Assignments will need to be made up to receive course credit.

Suggestions for the back-up plan may include:

• Posting your notes for a missed lecture or course on the portal, if possible.
• Providing students with assignments via the portal.
• Relax attendance requirements for classes, labs, etc., althoughÊassignments will need to be made up to receive course credit.
• Offer supplemental readings, or readings available online, to supplement classmates' notes from missed lectures.
• Offer additional office hours.
• Offer students opportunities to make up work as needed and appropriate.
• Plan to offer make-up exams.
• Prepare assignments that can be completed at home. Consider take-home tests or papers in place of in-class exams.
• Contact your department chair, or the Office of the Deans and Division Chairs (312.899.1291) for additional guidance if particularly complex situations arise.
  

2. Discuss with colleagues and students a plan for your own illness

Tap a colleague or teaching assistant to cover your classes if you have influenza-like illness (such as fever, sore throat, nasal congestion, and muscle aches).
Consider a make-up date for your class.
If you need to miss class, call your Department Chair and the Dean's Office at 312.899.5154.

3. If a student contacts you directly regarding their illness, please direct the student to call Health Services at 312.499.4288 as well.

4. Even with the suggestions above, some students will have simply missed too many classes to pass a course. In this case, please contact Debbie Martin, Dean of Student Life, at 312.629.6804 or dmartin@saic.edu, to adjudicate the issue.

The Office of the Deans and Division Chairs will support you as faculty in considering alternatives for students who have missed substantial amounts of class time due to illness. If you are having difficulty identifying whether a student should be allowed to receive credit for a class due to health problems, please contact the Office of the Deans and Division Chairs. The Dean's Office will convene anÊad hocÊcommittee of faculty and Student Affairs staff to consult with you in determining student outcomes. Please contact the Office of the Dean's and Division Chairs at 312.899.1291.

Sincerely,

Lisa Wainwright
Interim Dean of Faculty